Come Back To Me
by serenadreams
Summary: Damon leaves Mystic falls so Stefan and Elena can have their happy ending. What no one counted on was Elena's reaction to his departure.
1. Goodbye

**Chapter One**

* * *

_I'm leaving on a jet plane  
I don't know when I'll be back again  
Oh babe I hate to go  
There're so many times I've let you down  
So many times I've played around  
I tell you now they don't mean a thing.  
Every place I go I think of you  
Every song I sing I sing for you.  
_

* * *

Stefan walked away from Elena's house deep in thought. The conversation he had just had with her had confused him; Elena's feelings towards Damon were changing. The way she talked about him was different than it used to be, it was always Stefan and Elena against Damon, now it felt like it was Stefan and Elena _and_ Damon.

He had to stop this. Stefan felt an idea forming in his mind, he knew it would hurt Elena for a short while but he was in no doubt she would get over it. She loved him, Stefan. Not Damon. But if in some moment of misguided affection her feelings towards Damon were to intensify she would just get hurt and he couldn't let that happen. He couldn't let Elena put herself in a position where Damon could hurt her. He had to remove Damon from her life. His plan took shape as he approached the boarding house. He could hear his brother in the sitting room, drinking scotch.

He opened the door and walked purposefully forwards. He knew just what to say to make Damon leave. And once he was gone it would go back to being Stefan and Elena, no Damon tagging along, messing with Elena's mind.

Stefan entered the sitting room and sat opposite Damon who pretended not to notice him.

"Damon, we need to talk."

He rolled his eyes and looked up.

"What is it now brother? Bunnies planning revenge?" he wasn't in the mood for one of Stefan's lectures.

Stefan sighed and looked at his brother in disapproval.

"I'm being serious Damon. Its about Elena."

He watched as Damon's eyes flashed with concern.

"What happened, is she ok?" His muscled tensed, ready for a fight.

Stefan sighed again and lent forward towards him.

"She's fine physically. I need to talk to you about your feelings towards her."

Damon rolled his eyes and snorted, he picked his scotch back of the table and turned back to his book.

"Another jealous boyfriend speech huh? Save it Stefan I'm not in the mood."

"We all know you're in love with her Damon. She knows it too and that's why I need to talk to you. She feels guilty that she can't return those feelings. It's killing her that her love for me is hurting you. She can't let herself be happy around us because she cares about you and she thinks she's the reason for your pain."

Damon didn't say anything, his face was a mask void of emotion but inside he was burning, he knew that Stefan was right.

"Elena is never going to be happy knowing that every time she kisses the person she loves she is hurting someone she cares about. I'm sorry you have to hear this Damon, I really am. But Elena is my first priority and I want her to be happy, if you really loved her you'd want that too. She chose me, Damon, you being here is only making her unhappy."

Damon kept his mask intact and raised his eyebrows at Stefan.

"Are you done? That was quite a speech there."

Stefan stood up.

"Just think about what I said. If you love her you need to do what's best for her."

With that he walked up to his room, he knew he had gotten through to Damon, despite his calm exterior he could see that his words had hit home. Satisfied, he went to bed with a confidence that his future with Elena was completely secure.

* * *

Damon sat staring at nothing for hours after his brother had left the room. He did love Elena, and however much it killed him, he didn't want her to be miserable because of him. She was so caring about everybody that of course she felt sorry for him. He couldn't stay here and be the subject of her pity, he would leave, let her have her happily ever after with saint Stefan. It was the right thing to do, the selfless thing to do.

"_And it's because I love you that I can't be selfish with you."_

Now was his chance to not be selfish.

He moved quickly as he packed his things. He wrote a note to Elena, she deserved a face-to-face goodbye but he knew he wouldn't be able to leave if he looked into those doe eyes.

Damon threw his bag in the car and drove to her house; he hopped through her window and looked at her sleeping form.

He tucked the note into her mirror where he knew she would find it. He looked at the pictures that she had put there. Elena, Jeremy and their parents, Elena, Caroline and Bonnie at a birthday party, Elena and Jeremy in their 19th century attire posing before founders day, Elena and Stefan and, to his surprise, a picture of him and Elena at the miss mystic falls pageant, they were dancing, smiling slightly at each other. He figured she had put the picture up because the event had meant so much to her mother.

He slipped it out and put it in his pocket, leaving the note in its place.

He turned to Elena, asleep in her bed and committed her face to his memory, burning the image of her lying there peacefully into his mind. He bent down and brushed his lips against her forehead in a kiss as light as a feather.

With that he was gone, out of the window and into the night. Ignoring the single tear that escaped him as he drove away from mystic falls and away from Elena.

**Read review, tell me what you think :) **


	2. Sinking

**Chapter Two**

* * *

_I hear the tickin' of the clock_  
_I'm lying here the room's pitch dark_  
_I wonder where you are tonight_  
_No answer on the telephone_  
_And the night goes by so very slow_  
_Oh I hope that it won't end though_  
_Alone_**  
**

* * *

Elena stared at the note in her hands and read it for the thousandth time.

_Dear Elena,_

_You deserve a better goodbye than this, but that is what this is. Goodbye. _

_I am sorry for how difficult I made things for you and Stefan over the past year, I'm sorry for Jeremy and Vickie and everyone else that I hurt. I am sorry I hurt you Elena. _

_I hope you are happy, and I hope I'll bump into you and Stefan sometime in the next few hundred years… _

_Please try and keep yourself safe Elena._

_Damon._

Elena felt her eyes fill with tears and she curled up on her bed. It had been over two weeks since he left, and she read his note every day.

She wanted to punch him in the face and yell at him for leaving, then she wanted him to hug her and tell her how stupid she was to punch a vampire. She wanted him to look at her in that way that he saved just for her, when his eyes would fill with emotion and his walls would disappear. She wanted him to laugh at her and tease her mercilessly, making her smile even in the middle of some terrible catastrophe.

Elena smothered her sobs as tears trickled down her cheeks. The last few weeks had been awful. With all the vampire problems and Jeremy's depression and Stefan's inability to crack a joke, every conversation she had was doom and gloom. Elena hadn't smiled in a long time.

She started as her phone buzzed beside her; she picked it up and read the text from Stefan.

**Come to the boarding house, we have a problem. Love you – Stefan. **

Elena felt a fresh bout of tears spring forward as she wondered what could have happened now.

Tiredly, she grabbed her jacket and keys and headed to the boarding house.

* * *

As Elena reached the door she remembered how Damon would always open it before she knocked and make some inappropriately charming remark or sexual innuendo. Often earning a smack on the arm for his trouble, Elena sighed, regretting that she never truly appreciated how much more bearable he made her life.

The door was unlocked and she let herself in, looking around at the people in front of her.

Stefan was soothing a sobbing Caroline and Alaric and Bonnie were talking in low voices, frowning in concentration. They all looked up as she came in and she saw the flickers of worry that crossed their faces as they looked at her.

She knew she looked awful, she didn't sleep well these days and with the constant worries and pressure of her every day life she had been forgetting to eat.

"What's going on?" she asked, she went over to Damon's wet bar and poured herself a glass of scotch, earning raised eyebrows from everyone.

Stefan flittered to her side and put his arm around her, guiding her to the couch. She fought the urge to shrug off his arm, and sat down next to Caroline.

"Tyler, betrayed Caroline, he knows that we're vampires and he's sided with the werewolves against us." Stefan said in an apologetic and slightly patronizing voice.

Elena put her arms around the blonde vampire beside her and let her cry into her shoulder.

"Care, I'm sorry." She murmured. She felt bad for her friend but she didn't really care about Tyler's change of alliance. It was just another supernatural threat that had to be dealt with. She downed the scotch in one gulp and Stefan looked away, poorly disguising his disapproval.

She felt impossibly weary as she looked around the room, she wanted to laugh and smile, she wanted to feel_ alive _again. Instead of going through the motions of life, never smelling the roses.

"So what are we going to do about Tyler?" Alaric asked, breaking the heavy silence.

Elena shrugged and squeezed Caroline's shoulder.

"I guess it's your call Care." She said quietly.

Bonnie frowned but stayed silent.

Caroline nodded and sniffed.

"I don't want to kill him." She said, her voice breaking.

Elena sat still, not contributing to the rest of the discussion. Bonnie, Alaric and Stefan were working out some plan to kill the werewolves. And she knew that Stefan would tell her it was too dangerous for her to be involved anyway, so she stood up and said that she was going to get an early night. Stefan gave her a brief kiss and she barely bothered to kiss back, hating the lack of passion between them. She smiled faintly around the room before slipping back out the front door into the cold night.

* * *

Damon staggered back to his car, he had had a lot to drink, more than usual. He found his Camaro eventually and collapsed into the seat, closing his eyes. He missed having a home to go to in the evenings; he had been staying in a different motel every night and right now he couldn't even remember what state he was in, let alone where his motel was. He had traveled through four states so far, passing from bar to bar, not really caring where he was or why he was there.

He pulled the well-thumbed photo out of his pocket and stared at Elena's face. He knew he was doing the right thing; she deserved to be happy. But God it hurt. He missed her more than he'd ever missed anyone in his life. Even during his desperate search for Katherine, he had never felt this alone. He remembered the dance they had shared; it had been intense, their eyes never breaking contact…

He shook his mind out of his memories and tried to focus on getting himself back to his motel. He quickly realized that it was a lost cause and lent back against the seat, passing out into a fitful, drunken sleep.

* * *

Elena lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling. Jenna came in to check on her, but she rolled over, ignoring her. She knew everyone was worried about her; she had been sinking into a sort of depression. Everything had gone so wrong, she missed being the normal carefree teenage girl she used to be. She was getting very thin, she had noticed this morning that her jeans were a size too big, but she didn't really care. She didn't see the point in anything. Everyone she loved died or left her. Jeremy or Jenna would probably be next, she though bitterly. 'Everyone she cared about' she corrected herself; she didn't love Damon… did she?

**To the people who have reviewed, I wanted to say thank you. You are the sweetest people ever and your comments made me smile so big! I hope you like the chapter :) Serena x**


	3. Killing You

**Chapter Three**

* * *

Something you said, it sits in my head

It's been there too long, it's killing me slow

It's rolling around, it's pushing me down

It's keeping the good part of me closed

_Can't you see, that when I find you _

_I'll find me_

* * *

_She was running as fast as she could, the thing that was chasing her was more than human. Something much more dangerous, the trees blurred past her and the wind whipped in her hair, drying her tears before they could fall. _

_She was running towards something, a safe haven. She wasn't sure what or where it was but she knew that once she got there everything would be ok, her attacker wouldn't be able to hurt her anymore. _

_The darkness was closing in around her, she felt panic rise in her throat and fought it desperately. Two hands clutched at her arms but she couldn't scream, her voice had frozen and she was trapped silently inside her own body._

_She struggled against the arms holding her, trying desperately to break free. Suddenly the arms disappeared and she was completely alone. She looked around and felt a new set of arms encircle her, this time she felt relaxed, at home. She sighed against her rescuers' chest and breathed in his intoxicating scent._

_She opened her eyes and looked into his face._

"_Damon."_

"_Just tell me once Elena, have I lost you forever?"_

_She was confused, why was he asking her that? She opened her mouth to tell him that he could never lose her, that she loved him. She was shocked at the words that escaped her lips._

"_Yes, you have lost me forever."_

_She watched in horror as he stepped away from her and burst into flames. Why couldn't she save him? Why had she said something so cruel? Damon cried out in agony and her heart broke. She caused his pain. She ran forward to help him but felt someone holding her back. _

"_It's for the best Elena." Stefan said, as if talking to a grade schooler._

_She yelled in frustration and felt her knees give out when she saw the pile of ashes that used to be Damon, she would never see his cocky smirk, his beautiful blue eyes…_

"_No, no, no." she fell to the floor and the tears poured down her cheeks. _

_She had killed him._

Elena woke up screaming, her pillow wet with tears.

"Just a dream, It was just a dream." She chanted to herself.

But a part of her knew that it was true. She had hurt him; she was the reason he had left. It was all her fault, and now she was miserable too. Because… because she loved him. It was right there in front of her, crystal clear and completely undeniable. She had been fighting it for so long that the relief of acknowledging it was intense.

She looked around her room and knew with a sudden clarity what she was going to do. She was going to go and get him back. Screw the consequences, he needed her and judging by her sudden weight loss and alcoholic tendencies she needed him too.

* * *

Damon wandered listlessly around Camden, South Carolina. It was a boring little town but it had a few seedy bars that didn't close until the early hours so he was all set. He was tired of moving around and decided to stay there for a few more days before moving on.

He had been through all the states that surrounded Virginia but he knew that he would have to go further afield soon. Maybe he would go back to Italy, or London, he hadn't been there in a while.

He was nervous to put so much distance between himself and Mystic Falls, he knew he had to eventually, but the further away he got the more it hurt. He groaned at himself as he entered his a small smoky bar in a dodgy little side street, when had he become such a sap? He mused, he didn't do good… but here he was sacrificing his own happiness for a human girl. It made no sense and yet he did it anyway, to make her happy.

"What a wet blanket." He murmured under his breath as he ordered his usual scotch.

* * *

Elena quickly packed an overnight bag; she figured she could buy things on the way if she needed them, so she stuck to the basics. She looked at her clock; it was nearly midnight. There was no chance of her going back to sleep now so she might as well get on her way.

Bonnie would be pissed but it was the only way to find out where he is. She hoped that with some pleading looks and maybe a couple of tears she would be able to persuade her friend to do the spell.

When she was done packing, she got dressed in a pair of jeans and a v. neck jersey and wrote a quick note for Jenna, saying that she had gone to stay with Bonnie for a bit. She was about to leave when she felt a gust of wind behind her. She whirled around to see Stefan standing by her window.

"Stefan… what are you doing here?"

He frowned,

"I came to check on you and saw your light on…" he looked at her packed bag, "Are you going somewhere?"

He said it questioningly but his tone was accusatory. Elena felt anger bubble up inside her as she saw his self-righteous expression. She remembered her dream _'it's for the best" _

"I'm going to find your brother." She said coldly.

Stefan looked as though he'd been slapped.

"What? Elena don't be ridiculous."

Elena stared at him. Was he serious?

"I am not being ridiculous Stefan. Just because you are to cold hearted to care about your own flesh and blood doesn't mean I'm going to the same." She had raised her voice, and hoped she didn't wake Jenna or Jeremy.

"Elena, he doesn't care about anyone, this town is better off without him. You are better off without him."

"Are you hearing yourself right now? I am the only one who gets to decide who I do or do not want in my life. You don't own me Stefan, I can make my own decisions."

Stefan was looking at her as though he was seriously considering checking her into a mental institution.

"I'm just trying to protect you, I know you can make your own decisions but when you do you tend to make really stupid mistakes." His tone was superior and Elena fought the urge to slap him.

"Well guess what Stefan, I'm making a decision now. We're over, I don't want to see you so don't bother calling me and if you come through my window again I'll have Bonnie block you from the house."

With that she picked her bag and turned on her heel, feeling a huge weight lift from her chest.

Stefan called out her name but she ignored him. She locked the front door behind her and got into her car. She drove straight to Bonnie's, relief coursing through her.


	4. I'll Find You

**Chapter 4**

* * *

_Miles and miles of empty space in between us _  
_The telephone can't take the place of your smile _  
_But you know I won't be travelin' forever _  
_It's cold out but hold out and do I like I do _

* * *

Elena knocked on Bonnie's door, she was nervous about this part of her plan. If Bonnie didn't agree to help her, she would have no way of finding Damon. She prayed that her friend would see how much she needed to do this.

Bonnie opened the door and looked at Elena in confusion.

"Elena? It's one in the morning."

"I know and I'm sorry, but I need your help… can I come in?"

Bonnie frowned but moved to the side to let Elena pass her. she followed her into the sitting room.

"Is everything ok?" Bonnie asked

Elena nodded and sat down.

"I need you to do a locater spell."

Bonnie nodded.

"Ok, who do you need to find?"

Elena swallowed; this was the moment of truth. She knew that Bonnie had been thrilled when Damon had left. She said that the town and Elena were both better off without him. She looked down.

"Damon."

Bonnie looked at her, confusion and anger written across her features.

"No way Elena, I'm not helping you find that monster."

Elena closed her eyes.

"He's not a monster Bonnie."

Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"What does Stefan think about this idea?"

Elena sighed.

"Stefan doesn't own me, I don't care what he thinks about my plans. Anyway we broke up."

Bonnie went and sat down next to her.

"I'm sorry sweetie."

"It's fine, we've been growing apart for a while… Please Bonnie, I've been miserable since he left, you know that."

She looked at Bonnie, her eyes desperate.

"He's evil Elena, I don't know why he's so important to you."

Elena sighed.

"I love him Bonnie, and he needs me, I'm going to look for him with or without your help but it would be a lot quicker with."

Bonnie stared at her in surprise.

"You love him?"

Elena nodded. Bonnie lent back against the sofa in defeat.

"Fine, but you know the rules, he harms anyone and I end him."

Elena inwardly cringed at that thought but agreed.

* * *

Elena was back in the car in twenty minutes. She had circled the location on a map and was eager to get going. Bonnie had agreed to cover for her and say that Elena was staying at her house. It was a reasonably long drive to South Carolina and Elena wanted to get there before Damon decided to move on.

She broke the speed limit as she left Mystic Falls town limits. She was exhausted, she hadn't slept or eaten properly in weeks, but for the first time in a while she felt energized.

* * *

Damon was doing shots with a waitress, she was blonde, reasonably pretty and obviously very into him. He sighed, a year ago he would have fucked her then drained her. Now he cringed at the thought of doing either. He pulled the well-worn picture of him and Elena out of his pocket and rubbed his thumb across her face.

"Your girlfriend?" the blonde asked, nodding toward the photo.

Damon tucked the picture away.

"Nope, just someone I used to know."

She didn't look convinced.

"She must have been pretty important if you kept her picture…" she pried.

Damon was getting irritated.

"What does it matter? I used to know her, I used to love her. Now I don't."

That was a lie, he sighed. He knew he would always love Elena, for all eternity probably. He would never forget her, ever. She would always have a place in his heart… come to think of it; she'd always have the whole of his heart. It would always be Elena.


	5. Out Of Reach

**Chapter Four – Out Of Reach**

* * *

_Keep on trying, keep on trying_

_And I I've been drinking now_

_Just a little too much_

_And I don't know how_

_I can get in touch_

_With you, well there's only one thing for me to do_

_It's to keep on trying to get home to you._

_Poco – Keep on Trying_

* * *

Elena fiddled with the radio, trying to find a good station. It had begun to rain heavily and there was barely any signal. She gave up and rolled her eyes as her phone rang for the 5th time; she looked at the caller ID. Stefan, again. She knew that he would keep on calling until she answered so with a sigh she picked up.

"What is it Stefan?"

"Elena, where are you? I'll come and pick you up."

She scowled at the road.

"I don't want you to pick me up Stefan. I told you not to call me remember?"

"I get that you want to do something rebellious, but going to look for Damon is not the answer."

Elena gritted her teeth, God he was infuriating.

"I'm not looking for him because I'm having some kind of teenage crisis if that's what you think. I'm going to get him back because he needs me."

And I need him, she added in her head.

"Damon doesn't need anyone, you are being naïve Elena."

Elena's knuckles went white as she gripped the steering wheel.

"Whatever Stefan, I don't need to explain myself to you."

"Can we at least talk about this? It's dangerous to be driving in this weather."

"I'll be fine, please stop calling me."

Elena hung up and tossed her phone onto the passenger seat. Honestly, she was slightly wary of the weather, it was dark and the rain was making the road even harder to see. She'd been driving for a good hour already but she had quite a way ahead of her. She prayed there wouldn't be a thunderstorm; they petrified her.

An hour later Elena felt her eyes closing and she sat up straighter, trying to shake herself awake. There were barely any other cars on the road, and the sound of the rain was surprisingly melodic. She saw a sign for a service station and pulled off, parking in the small car park. She got out and stretched, her sweater was drenched almost straight away; she scowled and headed into the seven-eleven.

After two cups of instant coffee, Elena felt better and wanted to get back on the road. She groaned as she got in the car; her clothes were sticking to her uncomfortably where the rain had soaked them.

When she was about an hour from her destination, the first clap of thunder echoed through the night. Elena jumped in fright and peered out of the windscreen at the sky. She shivered as lightening flashed above her. She tried to focus on something else to take her mind of the raging storm outside.

She wondered what she was going to say to Damon when she found him… _Hi, how's it going, by the way I've realized I'm in love with you. _ She sighed, the fact that she was in love with Damon seemed completely ludicrous from a rational perspective. He had done so many unforgiveable things… and yet she had always forgiven him. He had also done a lot of good things, like saving her from the car wreck last year. She thought about their trip to Georgia; it had been the first time she had had fun since her parents' death. Damon had changed so much since then; she had never told him that she hadn't been compelled that night in her room. What he had said to her was so beautiful she had wanted to keep it to herself. She smiled and then jumped as another lightening bolt flashed across the sky.

Elena sighed in relief as she entered the outskirts of Camden, it was 4am and the storm was still raging around her. She knew the area of town Damon had been in when the locater spell had been done, but he could have moved since then. She reckoned her best bet was to check the bars in the area and then call it a night and look tomorrow if she didn't find him.

Elena frowned as she saw flashing lights ahead; there were men in fluorescent jackets directing traffic back in the other direction. Elena groaned, the road was completely flooded. She pulled into a side street and parked by the curb, hoping she wouldn't get a ticket. She stepped out into the torrential rain and shivered in her thin sweater, cursing herself for not bringing a jacket.

She found the area that Bonnie had said Damon was in and looked around, there was a high street with a few smaller streets leading off it. She could see four bars and liquor store that looked like they were still open. She decided to check all of them and if he wasn't there, find a motel for the rest of the night.

The first two places were completely deserted and the only people in the liquor store were a bunch of rowdy guys who had obviously already had too much to drink. Elena walked down a dark street toward the flashing sign indicating another bar. She heard footsteps behind her and whirled around, the men from the liquor store were close behind her, jeering and wolf whistling.

Elena gritted her teeth and walked faster, fear rising in her chest as she heard them speed up behind her. She reached the bar door and froze when she saw a closed sign in the window. She tried not to panic and carried on walking, there was one more place Damon could be; if she just got to him she would be fine. She briefly wondered what he would do to these guys if they hurt her. She shivered slightly and picked up her pace.

"Hey gorgeous, come here."

"Yeah slow down babe!"

Elena felt a hand on her arm and turned around to find herself face to face with one of the intoxicated men. She pulled out of his grasp and set off at a run. Looking around she could see that there were no other people out; it was completely deserted. The last bar seemed to be the only place that was open, and she prayed with all her might that, if not Damon, there would be someone there who could help her.

The men were chasing her; she could hear their pounding footsteps close behind her. As they caught up with her, one of them tripped her up with his foot, sending her sprawling on the pavement. She winced as blood began to ooze out of grazes on her hands and knees. Someone yanked her to her feet and shoved her against a wall. Elena felt tears trickle down her face as she stared at the drunks in front of her.

"Please don't hurt me." She whimpered.

That just seemed to egg them on, and they laughed in her face, making fun of her fear. Elena thought fast, she had to get out of there; she looked over the men's shoulders and gasped. They all turned around in their drunken haze to see what she was staring at. Elena took advantage of their momentary distraction and ran as fast as she could. Someone grabbed her hand but she twisted out of their grasp hearing a sickening crack as her finger broke. Ignoring the pain she sprinted toward the small bar: her only chance of safety.

* * *

Damon looked at his watch and frowned, he hadn't stayed out this late… or early, in a while. The bar he was in before had kicked him out after 3am and so he had come here, it was small and ugly and smelt strongly of cigarettes. He didn't want to leave though, knowing that the moment he was alone with his thoughts, everything would be too painful. The bartender was almost as drunk as Damon and was trying to uphold a conversation, much to Damon's annoyance.

An overweight greasy looking guy approached and asked for a refill, and Damon took the opportunity to escape out the back. He lent against the wall and sipped his corona, trying not to think about anything.

* * *

Elena burst through the door, her breath short in her chest. She prayed that he was in here, she could hear the guys behind her and had the horrifying realization that if she didn't find Damon soon… she pushed that thought out of her head and frantically searched the bar for his familiar figure. She couldn't see him. She felt her heart sinking in her chest as the bar doors opened again and the drunken louts moved towards her. There was no one there who would help her; the toasted truck-drivers and bored bartenders were completely unaware of her dilemma.

* * *

Damon heard the door slam and a new heartbeat joined those already inside. This one was too fast and even outside he could smell the persons' fear. Curiosity overcame him and with a sigh he wandered back inside. He froze when he saw the girl standing in the middle of the room.

"Elena?" He whispered. He frowned, maybe he'd had more to drink than he'd thought and was hallucinating. No… he would never have hallucinated her looking like that, this was real; Elena was standing in a sleazy bar in South Carolina.

Her clothes were soaked and her hair was plastered to her head, makeup was smeared down her cheeks in tear tracks and she was shivering violently. He could smell blood and ran his eyes over her, noticing the red patches seeping through her jeans at her knees. She was a lot thinner than when he had last seen her, and she had dark circles around her eyes. She hadn't noticed him; her unmistakable almond eyes were focused on a bunch of drunken idiots by the front door.

He suddenly realized that the men were approaching her and she was backing away, her eyes wide. That explained her fear, she was out of breath; they must have been chasing her. Anger and hatred raged through him when he thought what they might have done to her. He was at her side in a second.

Elena felt a familiar gust of wind beside her and turned, her heart skipping a beat as she looked at Damon's familiar face. He wasn't looking at her; he approached the drunken louts and told them very menacingly to get out. They quickly complied.

Elena felt a volley of different emotions as Damon turned to face her. Love, relief, anger, joy and to her surprise, betrayal; he had just left her. Without an explanation, he had just walked out of her life leaving her miserable. She felt tears pool in her eyes and she ran at him, pounding against his chest with her good hand. He didn't move, his face was a mix of shock, pain and confusion.

"You jackass!" Elena yelled as she hit him.

She was crying in earnest now, and suddenly she felt exhausted. She collapsed against his chest, sobbing into his shirt.

"You just left." She cried.

Damon wrapped his arms around her and guided her to an armchair in the corner. He tried to sit her down but she clung to him and shook her head violently. Keeping his arms around her he sat down, pulling her onto his lap. She curled into him, burrowing her face into his neck, breathing in his intoxicating scent. She felt a new wave of sobs overtake her.

"It's ok, I'm here." Damon murmured into her hair.

**Sorry for the long wait :( Life is hectic atm but i will update as often as possible!**

**people were asking for the names of the songs and bands that i put at the beginning so i will put that underneath from now on. The songs from the first 4 chapters were:**

**Leaving on a jet plane - John Denver**

**Alone - Heart**

**Joshua Radin - When You Find Me**

**When I need You - Leo Sayer**


	6. Got You

**Chapter Six – Got You**

_Can you still see the heart of me?_

_All my agony fades away_

_When you hold me in your embrace_

_Don't tear me down_

_You're all I need_

_Make my heart a better place_

_Give me something I can believe._

_Within Temptation - All I Need_

* * *

Damon looked at the shaking girl in his arms; she looked broken. She was tiny; if possible she looked even more fragile than she had before. He was completely baffled, what was Elena doing here? How had she found him… why had she found him? Her sobs eventually subsided and Damon pushed her back slightly, cupping her face with his hands.

"Elena…" He gazed at her; he had missed this girl so much. Leaving her had almost killed him and the feeling of holding her in his arms was unbelievable.

She looked up into his beautiful blue eyes. He was really here, right in front of her. Her heart felt whole for the first time in a long time.

"What are you doing here?" He asked. He didn't really know what else to say and it seemed like the obvious question to ask.

Elena looked down and played with the zipper on his leather jacket.

"I came to find you." She whispered.

Damon looked confused.

"Why?"

How could he not know how much he meant to her? Actually she knew how, she had been so scared of the way she felt about him that she had constantly pushed him away. But still, surely he had known that she cared about him at the very least.

"Damon when you were gone, it was like… I couldn't breathe, I missed you so much." Her voice broke and she looked away. "Everyone was serious all the time, you're the only one who ever laughs." She finished with a slight pout.

Damon felt his heart swell in his chest. She had missed him? He chuckled slightly at her last statement.

"You drove to South Carolina in the middle of the night because I make you laugh?" he asked, a hint of a smirk playing at his lips.

Elena blushed and lent her head against his chest.

"Why did you leave?"

Damon was quiet for a moment; he had never lied to her, he want about to start now.

"Because I wanted you to be happy, you and Stefan didn't need me around making trouble." He said it lightly but Elena could see the pain in his eyes.

"What made you think you leaving would make me happy?" She whispered.

He looked at her quickly.

"Um… Just something Stefan told me."

Elena's heart sank, what had Stefan said? She was furious; if he had lied to Damon she would never forgive him.

"What did he say?" She asked quietly.

Damon took a deep breath.

"You know… if you really care about her you need to do what's best for her…typical Saint Stefan stuff."

"I'm going to kill him." Elena muttered. "I swear to God, I am going to kill him."

She looked up at Damon, fixing him with a stern glare.

"You shouldn't listen to Stefan. He's an idiot."

Damon laughed.

"That's very true, though this time he seemed to have your best interests at heart."

Elena rolled her eyes. She felt so relaxed around him, she didn't have to try and be someone she wasn't, she felt at home.

"He needs to stop interfering in my life." She groaned.

Damon frowned slightly.

"What does he think about your little road trip?"

Elena shrugged.

"I don't care what he thinks, we broke up."

Damon looked at her questioningly but she didn't elaborate.

She glanced at the bar.

"Can you compel him to give me a scotch straight up?" She asked sweetly.

Damon was shocked, what the hell had been going on in the past few weeks?

"Sure." Damon shifted her off him and got her the drink. Elena slid back onto his lap when he sat down and handed her the scotch. Damon watched as she threw it back in one, barely flinching like she used to, as it hit her throat.

"When did you start drinking like that?" He asked quietly.

Elena set the glass down and scowled.

"Just over three weeks ago."

Damon frowned; his leaving had driven her to alcoholism? None of this was making any sense.

Elena yawned, he could see that her long night was catching up to her, and her clothes were still wet, he didn't want her to catch hyperthermia. He gently pulled her to her feet.

"Come on let's go, you're dead on your feet." He shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. Elena smiled at him, she pushed her hands through the sleeves and winced as her injured finger caught on the material. Damon didn't miss the movement; he reached for her hand, and gently examined it.

"What happened here?"

"Um… The guys that you asked to leave…" she trailed off seeing the furious look on his face.

"Did they hurt you anywhere else?" He asked in a controlled voice. She shook her head.

"I tripped." She said gesturing to her grazed knees and palms. "But I got away from them."

Damon wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her to the door.

"I'll look at it when we get to the hotel, right now we need to get you warm and dry."

He led her outside and clutched her against him as she shivered in the rain. He looked up as a thunderclap crashed above them. Elena jumped buried her face in Damon's shoulder, he glanced down at her.

"You drove here in this? You're terrified of thunderstorms!"

Elena nodded mutely. Damon smiled and kissed the top of her head, they headed towards his hotel. Elena's eyes were closing as they walked; she was leaning heavily against his side. After a while he scooped her up and carried her, she fell asleep in his arms before they reached the hotel.

Ignoring the shocked look on the concierge's face at the unconscious girl in his arms, Damon carried Elena up to his room and gently deposited her on the bed. He took off her shoes and carefully removed her wet clothing; he was shocked when he saw how her bones jutted out, she looked like she hadn't eaten in a week. He decided he was going to get her an enormous breakfast tomorrow.

Leaving her underwear on, he buttoned one of his shirts over her. He then turned his attention to her grazed knees; he gently wiped them with a warm flannel and did the same to her hands. They weren't deep so they didn't need to be dressed. Her finger was fractured, but the bone didn't seem to be out of place, he straightened it and wrapped it with gauze from the hotel first aid kit.

When he was done he pulled back the covers and laid her beneath them, she stirred as he tucked her in and grabbed onto his sleeve.

"Don't leave me." She whispered.

Damon lay down next to her and pulled her into his arms.

"I'll never leave you, I promise."

She smiled and curled into him.

"I love you Damon." She said as she fell back to sleep.

Damon froze, if his heart could, it would have skipped about 30 beats. She loved him? When did that happen? It could just be the fatigue and alcohol talking… Damon sighed and rested his chin on her head. Whether she meant it or not, this was the best moment in his entire existence.

"I love you too Elena." He whispered.


	7. Never Let You Go

**Chapter Six – Never Let You Go**

_And she said I_

_I just love you_

_And don't know why, I just do_

_When are you coming home?_

_I'm coming home soon_

_I just love you too_

_Five For Fighting – I Just Love You_

* * *

Elena awoke to find a pair of strong arms around her; she opened her eyes and looked at the unfamiliar room. She turned in the embrace and looked at Damon's sleeping form. He looked so peaceful, so beautiful. She smiled, he was really here; she had found him.

Damon smirked.

"It's rude to stare Elena."

She blushed and looked away; he opened his eyes and looked at her. She smiled and pulled herself closer to him, not wanting to move out of his comforting hold.

"Morning." She mumbled against his chest. He stroked her hair, reveling in the moment.

"Afternoon." He said with a smirk. She looked up at him confused.

"We slept till 3pm." He showed her his watch and she sat up.

"Wow, I haven't slept like that in weeks."

"Me either."

Elena hopped out of bed and looked in surprise at what she was wearing.

"How did I get into you shirt?"

Damon did that eye thing she secretly loved.

"Wouldn't you like to know." He said with a grin. She rolled her eyes and headed into the bathroom.

When Elena went back into the room, Damon was dressed, the bed was made and he was on the phone. She walked to the window and was relieved to see that the rain had stopped. She looked at the clothes she had worn yesterday; they were wet and bloody. She couldn't for the life of her remember where she had parked the car with her bag in.

Damon got off the phone and turned to look at her. He handed her a pair of his sweatpants, she pulled them on and laughed at the size. He smiled.

"We'll find your car so you can change."

Elena nodded and he wrapped his jacket around her shoulders as they left the room.

"Who was on the phone?"

He glanced at her.

"Stefan, he called to see if you'd found me."

Elena rolled her eyes.

"What did you say?"

"That you were alive and well and didn't want to talk to him!"

"Good." She said with a smile.

"What did you tell Jenna and Jeremy?" Damon asked as they exited the hotel.

Elena sighed, biting her lip.

"I left a note for Jenna saying I was staying with Bonnie, and she said she'd cover for me... It was the middle of the night when I left so no one was really around."

Damon looked thoughtful.

"What made you decide to go on a road trip all of a sudden?"

Elena blushed slightly and looked away.

"Um, well I had this dream… and then when I woke up I kind of had an epiphany, so I decided to come here." Elena was looking decidedly awkward as she finished.

Damon's smirk was slightly marred by the genuine curiosity and concern in his eyes.

"And what happened in this dream, might I ask?"

Elena blushed even more and rolled her eyes.

"It wasn't like that, it was more like a nightmare."

Damon raised his eyebrows. And Elena sighed and explained.

"I was running away from something but I knew that when I got to you I'd be safe…" Elena glanced at Damon. "Kind of like last night with those guys, I knew that if I found you, they couldn't hurt me."

Damon wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him.

"I'm glad you did find me." He said quietly. Elena smiled.

"Me too."

Damon glanced down at her then looked away quickly.

"So then what happened, in your dream?"

"Oh, well… I found you and everything was alright but then you sort of burst into flames."

Elena frowned, trying to remember.

"It was my fault that you were burning, and I wanted to help you but Stefan wouldn't let me."

Damon rolled his eyes.

"That's brotherly love for you."

Elena snorted.

"Yeah, well he kept on saying that it was for the best. But I really didn't think so. And then I woke up and decided to go and find you."

Damon looked like he was thinking about something. Elena looked at their surroundings and realized that she recognized the street. She had parked around here somewhere.

"My car's quite close to here, I think."

Damon snapped out of his thoughts and chuckled.

"Good, because I really didn't want to take you to breakfast looking like that, I have a reputation to uphold."

Elena grimaced and smacked his arm, nearly tripping over the huge sweatpants as if to prove his point. She sighed.

Damon suddenly remembered something that she had said earlier.

"What was your epiphany?" He asked. "You said that when you woke up you had an epiphany… What was it?"

Elena swallowed nervously. She knew that Damon loved her, he had told her so that night in her room, but she was nervous about admitting that she felt the same way. She took a deep breath.

"I told you last night." She said quietly.

Damon kept his face blank.

"What did you tell me exactly?"

Elena blushed, he was going to make her say it, damn him.

"That I love you." She whispered.

She felt Damon's arm tense around her and she glanced up into his face. It was unreadable, his eyes were staring at something far away and his lips were tightly pressed together.

"Why?" He asked.

Elena frowned, what kind of question is that?

"What do you mean?"

"Why would you love me? I mean aside from the fact that I am ridiculously hot." He gave her a smolderingly seductive look, which quickly became serious again.

"I've given you a lot of reasons for you to hate me, but I can't think of any that would merit love."

He didn't meet her eyes.

"Damon, you have changed so much since I met you, you've shown me so many times that you do care, and I know that Stefan is convinced that you don't feel anything and that's why you did all those bad things but..."

She paused, not sure how he was going to take this.

"You did them because you feel everything so much, the night you snapped Jeremy's neck you'd just found out that the woman you've loved for 146 years, didn't love you back. All your actions are reactions to pain and heartbreak."

Elena stepped in front of him so that he had to look at her; he stopped walking and glanced down, his face expressionless.

"You are good, and kind and loving, but you were hurting so much that you shut it off. I can see it in you, when you look at me, I can see in your eyes how much you care. Somewhere along the way I discovered that you are not a self serving psychopath and you have lots of redeeming qualities..."

She beamed up at him.

"And I fell in love with you."

Damon Salvatore was, for the first time in his very long life, speechless. He stared down at the beautiful girl in front of him, listening to her explain all the reasons she was in love with him. All the reasons someone as perfect and good and _angelic _as her loved someone like _him. _It was completely irrational and yet completely wonderful.

His voice still completely evaded him so he brought his face down to meet hers and crushed his lips against hers in a scorching kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with a burning passion.

It was with out a doubt the best kiss Elena had ever had, Stefan didn't even compare. She felt herself getting lost in his embrace, all her senses on fire with desire. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip and she opened her mouth allow him entry. She felt giddy and held onto his shoulders, pulling him closer as their tongues battled.

After what seemed like a thousand years Elena pulled away, gasping for air. Damon stared into her eyes.

"I love you too." He said quietly.

She got melted in his eyes, her heart swelling at the perfection of the moment.

"Let's go find your car." He said eventually.

He grabbed her hand and laced his fingers with hers, Elena smiled at how natural it felt and lent into his side. She sighed in contentment, right then in that moment, she felt whole.

* * *

**Just to clear things up... My best friend from school came up with this idea while watching TVD! Her name is Layla and while all the writing is mine the idea is hers :) She is so awesome and definitely deserves a credit! **

**I love you guys and your reviews are so sweet :) Keep reading - thank you so much!**


	8. AUTHORS NOTE!

**I am so sorry I haven't updated this story in ages, I have MAJOR writers block :(**

** So if any of you have any ideas/suggestions of what you want to happen in this story please message me or leave a review with your ideas!**

** Meanwhile check out my other stories...**

**I Love you guys and im sorry im being such a bad writer!**

**Serena x**


	9. From Here On

**Chapter Seven**

_Fall is gone winter is here_

_I spent all December just wanting you near_

_So I'm singing these words in the hope that you'll hear_

_You're the best thing that happened this year_

_I've fallen in love honestly_

_So I'm wearing my heart on my sleeve_

_In the hope that these notes and the words that I sing_

_Make you see_

_You mean more than the world does to me._

_Chase Coy – December_

"So what do you want to do?" Elena asked.

They were eating breakfast in a cute little diner not far from the hotel, Damon had ordered almost everything on the menu, worried about Elena's depleted eating habits.

"What do you mean?" He replied.

"I mean do you want to stay in Carolina, go back to Mystic Falls…what do you wanna do?"

Damon looked at her.

"I would have thought you'd be dying to get home."

Elena shrugged and picked at her pancakes.

"As long as I'm with you, I don't really care." She said quietly.

Damon's eyes were so full of emotion in that moment that it was overwhelming. He quickly looked away and said.

"Well we might as well make the most of being away, there's going to be trouble when we get back."

Elena sighed and nodded.

"Jenna's going to ground me forever."

Damon laughed.

"Well all the more reason to have some fun while we're here."

He looked around at the dreary streets and rainy skies.

"How about we take a road trip?" He said; the prospect of staying in this seedy town wasn't particularly inviting.

Elena's whole face lit up.

"Like when we went to Atlanta?" She exclaimed.

"But hopefully you'll be conscious this time." Damon smirked.

She rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the piles of food in front of them.

"I can't possibly eat all this!" she groaned.

"Eat as much as you can, you barely exist." He tried to sound teasing but she could tell that he was really worried.

* * *

"Elena, the whole point of being the navigator is that you tell me where we're going." Damon said with a laugh.

They were in Damon's car heading out of town, they had left Elena's car in a long stay car park. Elena was wrestling with a map that was twice the size of her, she groaned in annoyance, and shoved it onto the back seat.

"Let's just drive until we see somewhere we like." She said.

Damon smiled.

"Sounds good to me."

Elena leant back in the seat and tucked her feet underneath her. She was ridiculously happy but there were still things that needed to be talked about. Like where she and Damon stood, they loved each other but he had never struck her as the sort of guy who has a girlfriend… Her heart skipped a beat at that thought. Damon Salvatore, my boyfriend. She giggled.

Damon turned to look at her.

"What?"

She shook her head.

"Just thinking."

He raised an eyebrow.

"About?"

She blushed slightly.

"You, us." She looked at him. "I mean, are we like… dating now?" She asked.

He smirked.

"Do you want us to be?" He asked.

She tried to act casual and looked out of the window.

"Yeah I guess so…"

Damon smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders; she looked up at him.

"In that case, we are most certainly dating." Damon said, annoyed at how happy that made him.

Elena smiled, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Well _boyfriend, _you better watch the road, cos if you crash this car I won't walk away, unlike some people."

He rolled his eyes.

"And the nagging has already started, next you'll be making me tidy my room and cut my hair." He teased.

She laughed.

"Well now that you mention it…" She started.

He glared at her and she smiled.

"I don't want you to change Damon." She said, the teasing gone from her voice. "You don't have to pretend with me."

"I'm not Stefan, Elena. I'm not the good guy." Damon said seriously.

"You are good, and I _don't _want you to be Stefan." She frowned, "As long as you don't lie to me or… kill people, we're going to be fine."

Damon smiled.

"Deal." He said, back to his joking tone.

* * *

**I am soooooooo sorry I haven't updated in like forever! I know I completely suck but I promise I'm going to make it up to you guys! Thank you all for your awesome ideas about where you want this story to go, I am definitely going to include some of your suggestions**

**I know this chapter wasn't really worth the wait but it was just some fluff to get me back into the story... I'll be back on track in no time I promise!**

**Serena x**


	10. Always Be There

**_Chapter 10 _**

_When lies become the truth_

_That's when I run to you._

_This world keeps spinning faster_

_To a new disaster_

_So I run to you_

_I run to you _

_When it all starts coming undone_

_Baby you're the only one I run to_

_I run to you._

_Lady Antebellum – Run To You_

* * *

For the second time in twenty-four hours, Damon carried a sleeping Elena up to a hotel room. They had driven for hours and when she had fallen asleep, Damon had stopped at the nearest town for the night.

His mind was reeling from the events of the last couple of days. He had everything he had never thought he would have. Elena. She was his, really his, he could kiss her and hold her, and wipe away her tears.

He didn't have to stand by and watch while Stefan comforted her, he wasn't the one on the sidelines watching as she ran into his brothers' arms anymore. He was the one she would run to. And he would always be there, he promised himself that. Whatever happened, he would always be there.

* * *

Elena opened her eyes and looked around, she was in a hotel room.

"Damon?" She called.

Receiving no reply she noticed a note on the pillow next to her.

_Gone to get breakfast – D_

She smiled and got dressed.

When Damon came in she was writing in her diary, quickly filling in the past few days.

"Hey sleepyhead." He said.

He smirked at her and handed her a paper bag.

"Thank you." She got up and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. He smiled against her lips.

"Mm, I could get used to this." He said softly.

She grinned.

"Well you better, because I'm not going anywhere."

He kissed her again, the amount of intensity and devotion in their touch blew her away. She dropped the bag and wrapped her arms around his neck. His hands dropped to her waist, drawing her closer.

His lips moved from her mouth and touched her cheek, he pressed hot kisses down her neck, she arched into him and he walked her backwards until her knees hit the bed. She lay back and not breaking the kiss, he hovered over her.

She ran her hands along his chest, and began to undo the buttons of his shirt. When she was done he shrugged it off and tossed it on the floor. She pulled his mouth back to hers and lost herself in the kiss. Memorizing his every touch, sound and scent, loving that he was hers.

She pulled away from him and yanked her top over her head, letting it join his on the floor. His hands caressed the soft skin of her stomach and moved across her ribs. He kissed her neck and then her collarbone, moving still lower until he kissed the dip between her breasts.

She groaned and pulled him still closer to her, her hands reaching down to his zipper. He kicked his jeans off and helped her out of hers.

"I love you Elena." He whispered.

She looked up at him, the sincerity in his eyes made her dizzy.

"I love you so much Damon." She replied, her voice breathless.

He grinned and kissed her chest.

"I will never get tired of hearing that." He murmured.

She smiled.

"I love you Damon." She said again.

He unclipped her bra and she melted against his touch, she had never felt more beautiful or loved than she did at this moment, with Damon holding her in his arms.

She felt at home, like this was where she was meant to be all along. Nothing could top the feelings she had for him and no one could ever replace him. He was _it _for her. He was, in corny romantic Hollywood talk, the one.

* * *

They didn't get up that day, or the next. They reveled in discovering each other, learning every single thing that they didn't already know. Neither of them had ever felt like this and they didn't want to be apart for a second.

They both knew that reality would have to set in soon. They had to go home at some point and then there would be hell to pay. Elena had missed school and had left Jenna with barely an explanation. Stefan was going to be seriously pissed at the two of them and Bonnie would most likely try to kill Damon.

But right then, in those peaceful moments where the only things in the entire world that mattered were each other, they didn't care. Whatever they would have to face later; couldn't dampen their perfection.

Nothing could wipe the giddy smiles they had when they looked at one and another, off their faces. Nothing could take away the thrill that they felt every time they said I love you, or the passionate pleasure they found when they made love.

The universe could throw anything at them and they would come through, hand in hand. They were sure of it, they would face and defeat anything to be together forever.


	11. Face The Music

**Chapter 11**

_Give me strength to face the truth_

_The doubt within my soul_

_The longer I can just survive_

_The bloodshed in his name_

_I believe it would justify the means_

_It had a hold over me_

_The truth beneath the rose – Within Temptation_

* * *

Damon opened his eyes to find his face buried in Elena's hair. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, just as he was falling back to sleep a phone started buzzing. He groaned in annoyance and grabbed it off the bedside table. He pressed answer and mumbled sleepily.

"What?"

"Damon?" A women's voice yelled through the line.

"Yeah…"

"Damon, why the hell are you answering Elena's phone?"

That woke him up.

"Jenna, hi." He said, glancing at Elena who was still sleeping soundly.

"Where's Elena?" Jenna sounded hysterical.

Damon sighed and untangled himself from Elena, climbing out of bed and pulling on his pants. He ran a hand through his hair.

"She's fine." He answered calmly.

"Where is she, Damon? It has been four days and I know she isn't staying with Bonnie."

He sighed, Elena had been avoiding Jenna's calls for days; it was inevitable that she would eventually find out where she had been.

"She's with me, and she's fine." Damon assured her.

"Put her on, please." Jenna demanded.

"She's asleep." He said shortly.

There was a pause.

"Wait… Are you two…" Jenna started.

"Are we what Jenna?" He said teasingly.

She groaned.

"I want both of you here by this evening."

And there was reality.

"Sure thing Jenna." Damon said with a smirk.

"Promise me she's ok." Jenna sighed.

"I promise." He said seriously.

Elena stirred as he hung up.

"Who are you talking to?" she asked sleepily.

Damon looked at her.

"Jenna."

Elena's eyes opened wide.

"What?" She gasped.

Damon nodded.

"She wants to talk to the both of us this evening." Damon smirked. "I think we're in trouble."

Elena groaned pulled a pillow over her face.

"I am so grounded."

Damon chuckled and moved the pillow.

"Lucky for you I'm a vampire, climbing through windows comes naturally to me."

Elena tried not to smile but couldn't stop the corner of her mouth twitching up.

She kissed him softly and then pulled away.

"I don't want things to change between us." She said quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, can it still be like this… even though we're at home?"

Damon pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead.

"Yes." He said simply.

* * *

Elena sighed as she walked up the porch steps towards the front door of her home. Damon came up behind her and gave her a quick smile. She took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. Jenna flung the door open and stared at them furiously.

"If looks could kill…" Damon muttered.

"Inside. Now." Jenna said coldly.

Elena quickly slipped past her and into the house; she looked back and gave Damon a beseeching look. He sighed and followed her inside.

"Jenna…" Elena began.

She cut her off with a glare.

"Do you have any idea how worried I've been? Where have you been?" She yelled.

Damon looked like he was enjoying this a whole lot more than he should be.

"South Carolina." He said quickly.

Jenna stared at him, shocked.

"What? Why?" She asked.

Elena groaned inwardly, she might as well just tell Jenna everything, she was in trouble either way and she was sick of lying. She flopped down on the couch and Damon sat next to her, Jenna stood with her arms crossed.

"Remember when Damon left a few weeks ago?" She said.

Jenna frowned and glared at Damon.

"That was a dick move by the way, Elena was devastated...I have no idea why." She said coldly.

Elena blushed and Damon fought a smile.

"So I've heard." He said dryly.

Elena rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, I decided to go and find Damon…" She paused, she couldn't tell her about the witchy locater spell stuff! "Turns out Stefan knew where he was all along." She quickly lied though it could very well be true for all she knew.

"Wait, you went to find Damon? Why?" Jenna asked, shocked.

Elena sighed.

"Because I missed him."

Jenna scowled at Damon.

"Whatever happened to he's an ass?" She sighed.

"Oh he is an ass, but he's really quite loveable when you get used to it." Elena teased.

Damon rolled his eyes.

Jenna watched them with narrowed eyes.

"What does Stefan think about this?"

"I don't really care what he thinks." Elena answered stiffly.

"They broke up." Damon supplied.

Jenna raised her eyebrows and then sighed and gave her niece a small smile.

"Well you know you're grounded right?" She said, changing the subject.

Elena smiled gratefully.

"I figured as much." She said.

Jenna looked at Elena carefully for a moment.

"Are you ok?" She asked in a softer tone.

Elena nodded.

"Yeah, I'm good. Great actually." She said, unconsciously flicking her eyes to Damon. Jenna noticed the move.

"So are you two…together now?" She asked.

Elena blushed again and Damon smiled.

"You could say that." He said quietly.

Jenna sighed resignedly.

"Ok, well it's getting late so you should get to bed." Jenna said to Elena. "And Damon is _not _staying over" She added quickly.

Damon and Elena were both thinking about what she would do if she knew that he would simply climb through her window later on.

Damon got up and kissed Elena quickly on the cheek.

"See you soon." He said, Jenna was unaware just how soon it would be.

He nodded to Jenna and left.

Elena got up and stretched. She smiled at her aunt and headed for the stairs.

"Oh and Elena... I want to trust you. Don't give me reason not to." Jenna said.

Elena nodded and went upstairs.

**Sorry about all the fluffy chapters... I'm building up to a big event ;)**


	12. Not Going To Lose You

_**Chapter 12**_

_I don't wanna lose you _

_I don't even wanna say goodbye _

_I just wanna hold on _

_To this true love, true love _

_I don't wanna lose you _

_And I always wanna feel this way _

_Cause every time I'm with you I feel true love, true love _

_Tina Turner – I don't wanna lose you_

* * *

Damon awoke to find the bed next to him empty. He had snuck in through Elena's window and had stayed with her, he frowned and looked around the darkened room. He extended his senses, listening for her in the rest of the house. He could only hear two heartbeats. Panic quickly rising in his chest he reached for his cell phone and dialed her number, praying that she had just gone to see Caroline or something. Her phone buzzed from the dresser and Damon froze. She never went anywhere without it, her keys were on the floor where they had fallen out of her pocket and her wallet was on the bedside table. She had been taken from the room unwillingly.

Hating himself for not having heard anything he quickly got up and dressed. He disappeared back out her window and headed towards the boarding house. He hadn't been ther yet since they had been back, he wasn't quite ready to face Stefan. Now he didn't care, he needed his brother's help and they would just have to get over their differences.

He raced into Stefan's room and shook him awake. Stefan stared at Damon in confusion which quickly turned to anger.

"You!" He growled.

"Can you try and fail to kick my ass later? We have a problem." Damon said quickly.

Stefan narrowed his eyes, he could tell when Damon was seriously worried about something and this was one of those times. He wasn't messing around.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I honestly don't know, but Elena's MIA." Damon said quietly.

Stefan frowned.

"What do you mean…how come?" Stefan asked, confused.

Damon sighed.

"We got back last night, somewhere between eleven pm and four am she disappeared." He said.

Stefan stared at him.

"And you didn't notice? Were you with her?" He asked, raising his voice.

"Whoever it was, knew to be quiet." He said defensively.

The truth was he was furious at himself for not being more aware. He should have woken up. He should have heard someone taking her, usually he could hear when her breathing changed; this didn't make any sense.

He sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Any ideas of who it might be?" Stefan asked.

Damon shook his head.

"You?"

"It's either going to be someone who wants her because of the doppelganger thing, or someone who's trying to get to us." Stefan mused.

Whatever his feelings towards Elena and Damon, he would do anything to make sure that she was safe. He felt betrayed and hurt, but that didn't mean he wouldn't help get her back.

"If it's someone after us, they're likely to contact us before long." Damon said.

"If it's the doppelganger thing we're in serious trouble." Stefan finished.

Damon clenched his teeth and reached for his phone.

"Who are you calling?" Stefan asked.

"Ric and Caroline, we're going to need help." Damon said as he dialed.

"What about Bonnie?"

Damon rolled his eyes.

"The witch will be more hindrance than help."

"Ric, I need you to get to the boarding house right now." He said, not bothering with hello.

He hung up and called Caroline, when they were both on their way he put his phone back in his pocket and poured himself a large glass of scotch.

Stefan watched him, he wanted answers, he wanted to know where they stood. He knew this probably wasn't the best time but he needed to understand what had happened.

"So you and Elena…" He said, ignoring the bitter taste that left in his mouth.

"Yeah." Damon said quietly.

Stefan nodded, Damon turned to look at him and sighed.

"Look, you and I have always had our differences. But you're my brother and try as I might I can't seem to be able to cut you out of my life, and honestly I don't want that to change. I'm sorry about what happened with Elena but I'm not sorry that I'm with her." He said quietly.

Stefan stared at him, he wasn't used to Damon expressing his feelings, guess he had Elena to thank for that.

"She's rubbing off on you." Stefan said with a small smile.

Damon chuckled.

"Just… look after her." Stefan said, his voice catching slightly. He cleared his throat. "Watching you together is going to suck, but I'm not going to cut you out of my life. Don't worry." He finished.

Damon gave him a small appreciative nod and was relieved to hear the front door slam.

"Hello?" Caroline called.

"In here." Damon said.

"I know where you are, idiots. I was just being polite." Caroline said as she walked in the room.

She looked around.

"So what's going on? Please don't tell me you did something stupid." She said eyeing the too brothers cautiously.

With this whole Elena thing, having Stefan and Damon in the same room as each other didn't seem like a very good idea.

"Elena's missing." Damon said darkly.

Caroline's eyes widened.

"What? How? What?" She said, panicking.

A loud knock on the door interrupted her.

"Come in." Stefan yelled.

Ric walked in, closely followed by Jeremy. Damon rolled his eyes.

"What's baby bro doing here?" He asked.

Ric sighed.

"I was at Jenna's, he heard me trying to sneak out."

Damon snorted and Caroline giggled.

"What's going on…where's Elena?" Jeremy asked looking around the room.

"That's what we want to know." Stefan said.

Jeremy's stared at him in horror.

"What do you mean?" He asked, his throat dry.

Damon sighed.

"She disappeared somewhere between eleven and four." He said.

"And you didn't hear anything?" Jeremy said angrily.

Damon looked at him surprised.

"How did you...?" He began.

"Please try to remember that Elena has thin walls and I am easily traumatized!" Jeremy said.

Damon raised his eyebrows.

"Ok, wow… we are getting off track." Caroline said quickly. "We need a plan, we have to get her back. She has to be ok."

"There is no question of her _not _being ok. She is going to be just fine." Damon said as if trying to convince himself.

He wasn't going to lose Elena when he had only just got her; that would be too cruel, too painful. No, she would be fine…they just had to find her.


	13. Helpless

_**Chapter 13**_

_Ooo you're rippin' my heart in two_

_I've got to have you here with me_

_Oh there's nothing that I can do_

_I'm helpless without you can't you see_

_Helpless - Firehouse_

* * *

"We need Bonnie to do a locator spell." Jeremy said.

Stefan nodded and Damon frowned.

"The witch isn't exactly the most reliable…" He began.

"She's the one who helped Elena find you. And she's your only hope of you finding Elena." Caroline cut him off.

Damon sighed.

"Fine, someone call her." He said resignedly.

Caroline quickly spoke to Bonnie, telling her the situation. She hung up and announced that she would be here as soon as possible.

Stefan sat on the sofa and rubbed his head, Caroline gave him a sympathetic smile and went to sit next to him.

"How are you doing?" She asked softly.

He sighed.

"Not great." He answered honestly.

Caroline touched his hand, trying to offer some sort of comfort.

"If it makes it any better, Elena really did love you." She said sincerely.

She knew Damon could hear them but it didn't matter, it was the truth.

"I know, but there was always something between them. I noticed it the first time I saw them together." Stefan said quietly.

Caroline nodded.

"Yeah I saw it too." She admitted. "But I completely believe that you'll find someone who…"

Stefan was already shaking his head.

"There will never be another Elena."

"No, but there will be another love." Caroline told him softly.

She smiled reassuringly and he looked up at her, his eyes full of gratitude and warmth.

"Contrary to popular belief, sometimes you know exactly the right thing to say." He said with a smile.

* * *

"So are you and Elena like dating now?" Alaric asked.

Damon rolled his eyes.

"If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me that…" He said dryly.

Ric raised an eyebrow.

"Well?"

Damon sighed.

"Yes, for lack of a better word we are _dating._" He said, pouring himself more scotch.

Ric nodded thoughtfully.

"Guess I should've seen that coming." He mused.

Damon looked at him surprised.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

Now it was Alaric's turn to roll his eyes.

"Please, the girl forgave you for killing her brother!" He said, shaking his head.

He sighed.

"When you were away, she wasn't the same. It was like the light had gone out of her, Jenna was really worried."

Damon looked away, trying to hide the emotions that were suddenly plain to see on his face.

"As her semi step father… or step uncle…I think I probably have to say something along the lines of hurt her and I'll kill you...but I don't think you will hurt her." Alaric mused.

Damon kept his face blank.

"What makes you so sure? I did kill your wife after all." He said dryly.

Ric rolled his eyes.

"Oh give it up Damon, the big bad vampire rep was shot to hell the minute a seventeen year old human high school cheerleader saved your life."

Damon chuckled.

"She does seem to have a knack for that." He said, his voice unintentionally softening.

Ric didn't miss the change in him.

"We'll find her." He said softly.

Damon smiled humorlessly.

"I know. What I don't know is what state she'll be in when we do." He said his voice quickly hardening again.

A thought entered his mind and his eyes flashed dangerously.

Alaric, trying to prevent an incident quickly tried to calm him down.

"She's tough, she'll be fine." He said reassuringly.

Damon shook his head.

"No, she's brave. She's 5'6 and 100lbs she doesn't stand a chance against anyone, you know that." He said bitterly.

It was one of the things he loved the most about Elena, her fire, and her bravery. But her tendency to overestimate her ability to defend herself was something that scared him to death…no pun intended.

Alaric, unable to think of any more soothing words gave him a pat on the shoulder and walked away.

Damon turned to go to the basement and get some blood when his head exploded with pain. Caroline and Ric rushed to his side as he fell to the floor.


	14. Focus

_**Chapter 14**_

_Helpless, helpless, helpless_

_Baby can you hear me now?_

_The chains are locked and tied across the door,_

_Baby, sing with me somehow._

_Blue, blue windows behind the stars,_

_Yellow moon on the rise,_

_Big birds flying across the sky,_

_Helpless, helpless, helpless_

Elena struggled to open her eyes, her lids felt heavy with exhaustion. She sat up and felt along the floor with her hands, cold damp stone. She shivered involuntarily. From what she could see, she was in some sort of cell, there was barely any light but she could just make out metal bars where the door should be.

She desperately tried to think back, to figure out how she had gotten here, who had taken her. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in Damon's arms. She realized that she must have been taken from her own bed, she wondered how Damon hadn't heard anything…or maybe he had, maybe he was overpowered, maybe…

No. She couldn't think like that. Damon would be fine, he would arrive and rescue her any second. But until that happened she needed to figure out exactly where she was.

She struggled to her feet and shakily walked towards the bars. She gripped the cold pieces of metal with her hands and peered beyond them, into the darkness.

"Ah, you're awake." A cold voice startled her.

A figure moved out of the gloom. Elena gasped in surprise.

Jules.

"For a moment there I was worried we'd killed you." She said.

Elena stared at the other woman, why was she doing this? Why couldn't she just agree to be friends like they had all wanted?

"What are you going to do?" She choked out.

Jules smiled softly.

"Don't worry, you won't be harmed…much. I just want your vampires."

Elena's eyes widened.

"Please don't hurt them." She begged.

Jules laughed.

"Sorry, no can do. See we have a plan, wanna here it?" She didn't wait for a reply.

"Stefan finds out where you are, pulls a hero act to try and save his little human girlfriend, we will then kill him and Damon will come to get revenge…then we'll kill him too." She recounted her sick plan as though she were telling a very slow child a bed time story,

Elena fought the urge to roll her eyes. It was almost funny how completely incorrectly Jules had interpreted the relationships between the three of them.

"How did you get me here?" She asked.

Jules sighed.

"Snuck into your room, stabbed the vampire with a low dose of vervain. He won't even feel it in the morning." She answered.

Elena sighed.

"You haven't thought this out very well have you?" She said.

Jules frowned.

"How so?" She asked, pretending to be bored by the question.

"Well, for one Stefan isn't my boyfriend, Damon is. Two, there are three vampires, a vampire hunter and a witch who will kill you for kidnapping me, and don't think I'm exaggerating; they've done it before. Three, Damon is stronger than Stefan so the vervain won't affect him for very long, in fact he's probably awake already, and he gets really angry when someone hurts me, and when Damon's angry he has a tendency to kill people." Elena said coldly.

Jules looked slightly thrown by her statement but tried to hide it.

"You've been with both of them?" She asked with a chuckle. "Well, I didn't see that one coming."

Elena scowled.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked. "We gave you a chance to be friends, why do you want to fight with us?"

Jules sighed.

"I'm getting bored of this banter Elena." She turned to walk away. "Oh and don't worry, I'll be sure to let you watch them die." She said with a cruel smile.

And then Elena was once again alone. She sat in a corner and pulled her knees up to her chest, wishing with all her heart that Damon were there.

There was a resounding crash that seemed to shake the whole building, Elena looked around in fear and gasped when she came face to face with Tyler.

"Tyler. Thank god." She whispered. "You have to get me out of here, Jules has the keys."

Tyler looked at her sadly.

"I'm sorry Elena." He said quietly.

She didn't understand; she stared at him confused.

"What?"

Someone appeared out of the shadows and moved in front of Tyler, towards Elena. The man was clearly unmerciful, His eyes were cold and his hands were dirty, his muscles rippled through his shirt as he walked. Elena gulped in fear as he approached her.

"Tyler?" She whimpered.

"I'm sorry." He whispered again.

"We need something to prove to your vamps that we have you…any ideas?" The man asked cruelly.

Elena shivered but didn't reply.

The man grabbed her hand and twisted it around, making her cry out.

"We could send them a finger…but it's a bit of a cliché." He pondered.

Elena felt her heart rate spike. She struggled to get out of his grip but he wouldn't budge.

"Please don't." She begged.

The man laughed.

Elena looked around desperately but realized in horror that Tyler had left.

He shoved her back against the wall and her head smacked against it, hard.

She closed her eyes and focused on one thing, the most beautiful, precious thing in her life. Damon. She envisioned every detail of his face; his sparkling blue eyes, the creases that appeared around his mouth when he did that smile he saved just for her, the sweet little pucker that formed between his brows when he was thinking… the feel of his lips against hers.

She was pulled upright by her hair and as pain ripped excruciatingly through her head she refused to focus on her surroundings.

"Damon, Damon, Damon, Damon." She whispered to herself.

"How about blood? They would recognize your blood, surely?" She vaguely heard the werewolf say.

She continued to focus on Damon, imagining that there was some sort of connection between them, whereby he would know she was in trouble and come and save her. She knew she was being silly but it was distracting her from the gravity of her situation, and she welcomed the distraction with open arms.

She felt a blade slice across her skin and couldn't stop the shriek of pain that escaped her.

"Damon, Damon, Damon, Damon."


	15. I Will End You

**Chapter 15 - I Will End You**

_I love the way you understand_

_The way you love_

_The way you were when no one was looking_

_You were worth it all and you were everything I need_

_You captured my attention_

_Did I mention I think you're beautiful darling_

_If I could tell you now, I would tell you how_

_My world has died now that you're missing_

_Now that you're missing_

_**Missing – Joel & Luke**_

* * *

"Damon?"

"Damon what's going on? Are you ok?"

As quickly as the pain had begun it ceased. Damon jumped to his feet, staring wildly around at the anxious people in the room.

"It's Elena." He gasped.

Stefan took an unconscious step towards him and Caroline frowned. Alaric looked at him as though he were crazy.

Bonnie walked in.

"Anything new?" She asked as she entered.

Everybody ignored her.

"What do you mean it's Elena? What's Elena?" Stefan asked, confused.

"I felt her, I was feeling what she was feeling." Damon replied in wonder.

Alaric looked deep in thought.

"How did you know?" Caroline asked.

"I could hear her in my head, she was calling my name…she was in so much pain." Damon's voice broke at the end.

"That's not possible." Stefan stated matter of factly.

"Yes it is." Bonnie chimed in.

Everyone turned to stare at her.

"If two souls are irrevocably entwined they can form a connection whereby one will know when the other is in great pain or grave danger." She read a passage from her grimoire.

"Oh my god that's so romantic." Caroline gushed.

She glanced at Stefan and saw his face. He looked like he had been slapped.

"My ex-girlfriend and my brother are soul mates." He murmured, almost to himself.

Caroline gave his hand a comforting squeeze.

"Wait, you seriously think Elena and Damon are soul mates?" Ric asked.

Bonnie sighed.

"Well much as I hate to admit it, you guys kind of have the symptoms." She said, as if informing Damon he had some terminal illness.

"When you are away from each other you sink into a depression, despite circumstance getting in the way you find a way to be together against all odds. No one believed in you as a couple, including yourselves, but you managed to overcome it. You are unable to physically harm each other, or stand by while harm is inflicted on the other… It's all here guys." Bonnie said with a sigh.

"Soul mates." Damon mused; he was annoyed by how pleased that idea made him. God he was a sap, he thought to himself.

"Can we get to the part where we find her?" Jeremy asked.

"I can do a spell, but I need something of Elena's." Bonnie said.

Stefan and Damon looked at each other.

Damon sighed.

He pulled the picture of her out of his wallet; he always carried it with him.

He handed it to Bonnie who began to set up for the spell.

Everyone watched anxiously while Bonnie performed the spell, when she was done she stared at the map in front of her in shock.

"She's in the old Lockwood dungeon!" She announced.

"You mean where Liz took us?" Damon asked.

"Oh god." Caroline moaned. She sat down unceremoniously on the floor.

Stefan went to see if she was ok.

"What is it?" He asked.

"The only other people who know about that place are the wolves which means that Tyler…" Caroline broke off, burying her face in her hands.

"We need to go, right now." Damon growled.

Alaric nodded, agreeing. Jeremy jumped up but Damon shook his head.

"Oh no, you are staying right here." He said.

"What? She's my sister Damon. I can't stay and not do anything!"

"I won't be able to help her if I'm constantly distracted with your safety." Damon said flatly.

"Damon's right Jeremy." Bonnie said quietly.

Alaric and Damon glanced at each other.

"You're staying here as well." Damon said to Bonnie, earning himself a deathly glare.

"I don't think so." She scowled.

Alaric sighed.

"Only vampires or vampire hunters get to go." He said with a chuckle.

"But my powers will help, I can bring down the wolves." Bonnie objected.

"Can you focus it on just the wolves, while not hurting us?" Stefan asked.

Bonnie paused, then sighed.

"No, but…"

"Look, you and Jeremy are both very breakable, despite what you chose to believe." Damon said. "It takes less than a second for you to have your necks snapped, I should know." He looked guiltily at Jeremy who shrugged.

Caroline chimed in.

"Can we just go? I'm getting restless." She complained.

Damon nodded.

"Me too. You, stay." He said harshly to the two humans. They glared mutinously but didn't move; both slightly scared of that side of Damon.

Alaric, Caroline, Stefan and Damon headed for the door, Alaric carrying a bag full of weapons.

"I should have made wolfs bane darts." He admonished himself. "I doubt vervain is going to help us much."

* * *

Damon, Stefan and Caroline reached the dungeon in record time; Alaric was following them in a car. They approached the entrance, each one of them clutching some sort of sharp object.

Damon led the way down the cold stone steps; he reached the first door and pulled it off its hinges as quietly as he could.

There was a bloodcurdling scream from inside that echoed through the stone. Damon abandoned his attempts at being stealthy and charged towards the awful sound. Stefan and Caroline hot on his heels.

A man ran to stop him and Damon ripped his heart out without slowing down. He found himself in a dark room, there were metal bars and chains decorating the already creepy interior. He heard a yell from behind him and saw Caroline stab someone in the chest, Stefan was fighting someone else a little further back.

Damon focused, he closed his eyes and blocked out the sounds of the fight. He quickly heard what he'd been searching for; her heart beat.

It was slow and weak, he ran towards where it was coming from and ripped the metal obstructing his path away. Suddenly he saw her, she was lying on her side on the floor, blood was pooling around her body from a large gash on her neck. She was shivering from cold and fear.

He was at her side in a second, gently pulling her into his arms.

"Elena." He murmured.

She opened her eyes and gazed dazedly into his.

"Damon?" She choked.

He stroked her hair and pressed his lips to her forehead.

"You're ok, you're safe now." He promised.

She gave him a weak smile before her eyes drifted closed.

"I love you." She whispered as she slipped into unconsciousness.

"Oh how sweet."

Damon's head snapped up.

"You." He growled, his eyes focusing on Jules.

He gently set Elena down behind him and charged at the woman, knocking her to the floor.

"You're an idiot. It's not a full moon; I'm stronger than you." He said menacingly.

Jules's eyes widened as she hit the floor with force. She struggled to her feet.

"No, but I have back up." She responded.

Just then Alaric ran into the room.

"I think we got them all but we can't find Tyler or Jules. Caroline and Stefan are looking for Elena." He panted.

He took in the situation in the room and gasped.

"Is she…?" He asked, staring warily at Elena's body.

Damon quickly shook his head.

"She's alive." He said stiffly.

Jules seemed to be looking for a way out. Damon smiled darkly.

"Not so brave now all your friends are dead are you?" He asked.

Jules swallowed.

Damon wanted to make her suffer but he was worried about the amount of blood Elena had lost, he could hear her sluggish heartbeat and it was making him nervous.

He rushed at Jules and snapped her neck before she could blink.

Ric flinched but didn't comment.

Damon scooped Elena back into his arms and bit his wrist, holding it against her mouth, she moaned and turned her head away.

"Please kitten, you need to heal. You won't be a vampire, I promise." He muttered.

Elena complied and swallowed some of his blood, the wound on her neck instantly healing.

Stefan and Caroline joined them.

They both gasped when they saw Elena.

"Is she ok?" They said in unison.

Damon nodded.

"Let's get out of here." He said.

They left the underground cell and made there way back towards the outside world.

Tyler suddenly appeared in front of them, he was staring at Caroline, his face a mask of confusion and pain.

Caroline glared at him.

"Care, I'm sorry but you lied, I didn't know what…" He began.

"You've known me and Elena since were two." She yelled. "How could you do that? How could you let them hurt her?"

Tyler looked down.

"I just, I didn't…"

"No. I don't ever want to see your face again." Caroline said through her tears.

She marched passed him and Stefan and Ric followed.

Damon paused as he passed, Elena was only just conscious and clung to him, gazing at Tyler dazedly.

"Get out of town by morning. You show your face here again and I will _end _you." He whispered menacingly.

Tyler shivered and nodded.

Damon left and Tyler stood there alone, fighting the tears that were threatening to fall.


	16. Forever Please

Chapter 16 - Forever Please

_I swear that I can go on forever again_

_Please let me know that life on that day will end_

_I will go down as your lover, your friend_

_Give me your lips_

_And with one kiss we begin_

_**I'm lost without you - Blink 182**_

* * *

Damon and Elena lay in contented silence when they woke up the next morning. Each appreciating the others presence without the need for words. Damon hadn't told Elena about Bonnie's soul mate theory yet and wasn't sure how she would take it.

"Damon?" Elena said suddenly interrupting his thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"You know what you said about me… becoming like you?"

He rolled onto his side to look at her.

"No?"

"Don't worry you won't be a vampire." She clarified, a small pucker forming between her brows.

He smoothed out the creases on her forehead with his thumb.

"Keep that up and you'll get permanent worry lines on that gorgeous face of yours." He murmured.

"Don't avoid the question."

He sighed.

"I don't know what you're asking, Lena. You don't want to be a vampire, I was reassuring you that you wouldn't be."

She looked away.

"But what if I did." She whispered.

Damon stared at her.

"What?"

"Well think about it, I'm going to get old and die. What are you going to do? I mean, if you left when I started getting wrinkly I'd be miserable, but if you stayed and I died, you'd be miserable. It just doesn't work."

He stroked her cheek.

"I would never leave." He said quietly.

She frowned.

"I want to spend forever with you Damon." She said. "If that means being a vampire…"

"Elena!" He cut her off. "This is a big decision, and we have plenty of time to decide. You don't have to make some commitment right now."

She avoided his eyes.

"Would you still love me if I wasn't human?" she whispered.

He lent in and kissed her nose.

"I will love you forever, nothing can change that." He replied sincerely.

She smiled.

"Then kill me."

Damon swallowed, he wanted to keep Elena forever; of course he did. But this was just about the most selfish thing he could ever want, and hadn't he promised himself that he _wouldn't _be selfish with her?

"Elena…" He started.

She cut him off.

"I know what you're thinking." She said.

He raised an eyebrow.

"What's that?"

"You're thinking that you would be taking away my life, you think that's the most selfish thing you could do right?" She said, surprising him with the accuracy of her guess. "But really, it would be selfish not to change me. You have the power to give me eternal life, would you really deny me that?"

Damon sighed.

"Where has all this come from? You've never wanted to be a vampire before. If I remember correctly the thought disgusted you."

Elena looked away.

"When I was in that room with Jules, when that man was hurting me…I was just thinking about you. Focusing on you made the pain go away. And I realized that…I don't ever want to lose that feeling. That love and _trust _I have for you, it's hard to find Damon, it's worth dying to protect."

Damon stared at her, wondering how he could possibly deserve this beautiful girl. He had given her every reason to hate him and yet here she was proclaiming her eternal love for him. He could have sworn he felt his heart flutter.

He curled his fingers in her hair and pulled her lips to his. She responded enthusiastically, crawling on top of him without breaking the kiss. He ran his hands down her thighs and she kissed his neck, scraping her blunt teeth gently along his skin. She pulled away and, keeping her legs wrapped around his waist, looked him in the eye.

"Will you do it?" She murmured.

He looked up at her, her dark hair fell in unruly waves around her shoulders, her eyes were shining and her lips were swollen from their kiss. He had never seen her look so beautiful.

"Yes." He whispered.

She lent over and crashed her lips back to his; he flipped them over, hovering above her body with his arms supporting his weight.

"I guess it makes sense…what with you being my soul mate and all." He smirked.

"What?"

Damon smiled.

"I felt what you were feeling when the wolves had you. Apparently that makes us soul mates. According to the witch anyway."

Elena's face broke into a breathtaking smile.

"Seriously?" She gasped.

He kissed her softly.

"Seriously." He replied.

She frowned.

"What did you feel?" She asked.

Damon traced his fingers along her neck, where the wounds inflicted by the werewolves had been. They were long since healed now but the memory of what they had done to her still filled him with rage.

"I could feel your physical pain." He murmured.

"But vampires don't hurt the same way human's do, so how could…?

He shook his head.

"No, I felt the actual pain that you were feeling, how you were feeling it. Not how I would feel it if I had the same wounds."

She gazed up at him.

"Sorry." She whispered.

He rolled his eyes.

"What for?"

"Well it seriously hurt!" She said stroking his neck.

"Only you would apologize for someone attacking you with a carving knife." Damon said with a sigh.

The thought of Damon being so human and vulnerable scared her. Filled with a sudden, overwhelming fear she grabbed his face between her hands.

"Don't ever die, ok?" She whispered desperately.

"I'll do my best."


	17. You're The One I Love

Chapter 17

_Won't you take my hand darling?_

_On that old dance floor,_

_We can twist and shout_

_Do the turtledove,_

_And you're the one I love_

_You're the one I love, _

_The one I love_

_**The One I Love – David Gray**_

* * *

"You're the one I love, the one I love." He sang softly into her hair.

His hands were wound around her waist, her head resting on his shoulder and her arms fastened around his neck as they twirled slowly to the song.

His hands caressed her sides, his lips placing soft kisses and gentle words into her hair. They swayed together, perfectly in sync.

They were alone in the boarding house, music playing softly as they danced around the sitting room.

"I love you Damon Salvatore." She whispered.

"Tell the reaper man, and the stars above, that you're the one I love." He sang along with the song, holding her even closer.

The presence glass of red wine sitting on the small coffee table was inescapable.

The song drifted to an end and they stopped moving. Not letting go of each other, just standing completely still in the middle of the room.

"Last chance to back out my love." He whispered.

She looked up at him with watery eyes.

"I'd give up anything for you. I'm gaining so much more." She replied softly.

He pressed his lips to hers in the lightest of kisses.

He led her to the sofa, and sat down pulling her onto his lap. He stroked her long chestnut hair and looked into her eyes.

He handed her the wine and held her gaze as she sipped it. When the dark red contents had all gone he placed the glass on the floor and crushed her gently against his chest.

She looked up at him.

"Will you love me forever?" She asked quietly.

He cupped her face and brushed his thumbs across her cheekbones.

"I will love you till the end of time Elena Gilbert." He whispered.

She sighed in contentment and closed her eyes.

Damon buried his head in her hair. Forcing himself not to panic as her heartbeat slowed. He listened to the familiar sound for the last time and when it stopped completely he held her so tight in his arms, letting a single tear escape his eye and track its way down his nose.

The truth was, he was scared to death. He held her lifeless body and he was _terrified. _He knew he had done everything right. But he couldn't help but go over every thing that could possibly go wrong, torturing himself.

Her body was warm and soft, if not for the absence of her pulse he might have thought her to be sleeping. Every fiber in his being had rebelled against killing her. But he had done it for them, because what they had was incomparable to anything else.

He had decided on poison because he knew that he wouldn't have been able to touch her, love her and hold her with the hands that had ended her life.

He traced the plains of her beautiful face and waited quietly for her eyes to open.

When they did they stared at him with such warmth and devotion that his heart soared.

He kissed every inch of her skin that he could reach and she held him, understanding that although he would never say it, watching her die had been the hardest thing he'd ever had to do.

Their lips met and no words were spoken, none needed. They understood each other; they were bound together by their love, blood and souls.

_You are my forever, Elena._

_You are my forever, Damon._

_Finis_

**So that's it! This story has been a lot of fun to write! I know that a lot of you wanted me to carry it on for longer but it just felt like the right time to end it...don't be mad at me! Don't forget to review and check out my other stories ;) **

** - Serena 3**


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